Madison Craft Beer Week presents a very special Kick-Off Celebration featuring cask ale on Saturday, May 4, 2013. Starting at 1pm and conveniently located at the East Side Club on Monona Dr. (3735 Monona Dr, Madison, WI - near Olbrich Botanical Gardens). Special guest brewers will help us pour just for you!
For the price of admission you get not only unlimited samples of dozens of special releases and cask ales and a fancy glass to drink out of, but the soothing sounds of Classical Revolution's brass quintet performing traditional bierhall and drinking songs. The Eastside Club provides a nice large space that is comfortable for both indoor and outdoor settings, good weather or bad.
Come chill by the lake, drink some special cask beer and listen to some great music! This year we will be joined by the fine folks at 105.5 FM TripleM to say hello and give out some free Live from Studio M CDs!
Music and Cask Listings
Special casks from:
Hopslam - Bell's Brewing Co (Kalamazoo, MI)
Saga IPA - Summit Brewing Co (St. Paul, MN)
ESB - House of Brews (Madison, WI)
Down and Dirty Chocolate Oatmeal Stout Aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels and Rocky's Revenge Bourbon Barrel Brown - Tyranena Brewing Company (Lake Mills, WI)
Special Release from Vintage Brewing Co (Madison, WI)
2 Great Beers from Tallgrass Brewing Co (Manhattan, KS): 1) Tiger Sweat (Buffalo Sweat aged with oranges and cocoa nibs); 2) Pub Ale with fig, dried cranberry, and oak and primed with brown sugar.
Belgian Abbey - Potosi Brewing Co (Potosi, WI)
Hello, My Name is Joe (Imperial Black Wheat) Infused with Alterra Sumatra - 3 Sheeps Brewing Co (Sheboygan, WI)
Luna Stout with Cocoa Nibs - Hinterland Beer (Green Bay, WI)
TBA - Furthermore Beer (Spring Green, WI)
TBA - The Great Dane (Madison, WI)
Common Thread (collaboration beer just for Craft Beer Week from 8 Wisconsin breweries!)
We'll continue to post others as they get confirmed!
This year we will also have special guests pouring including brewers from Tallgrass, House of Brews, 3 Sheeps, and others!
Advance tickets are $25 and $35 at the door. Purchase tickets from Brown Paper Tickets.
What is Cask Ale
Cask ale, also called "real ale," is beer the way it has been served for centuries. Beer is prepared and then conditioned at cellar temperatures in wooden (or, today, stainless steel) casks. In this conditioning stage, the beer not only comes to rest and matures but will naturally carbonate. This process results in a smoother, finer, carbonation and more refined taste.
Why A Cask Ale Festival
The opportunity to taste so many beers in their natural condition doesn't come around very often. We thought it was important to celebrate craft beer by presenting it in its very finest form. Pubs and bierhalls have been combining naturally brewed beer and music to patrons for as long as pubs and bierhalls have existed. We hope you'll join us in celebrating the traditions and revelry of handcrafted beer.
